Test tube holder or display device



J ly 2, 1963 J. P. QUACKENBUSH, JR 3,

TEST TUBE HOLDER on DISPLAY DEVICE Filed May 17, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 00000000 g QOOOOOOO I 00000000 l co i fiuuuu fiuuuuu I: a 8

(0| 0uuuuu0uu0 H L" uuuuuuuuuu I l uuuuuuuuub INVENTOR.

% JOHN P OUACKENBUSH, JR.

ATTORNEYS.

y 2, 1968 J. P. QUACKENBUSH, JR 3,390,783

TEST TUBE HOLDER OR DISPLAY DEVICE Filed May 17, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet a FIG. 2

, INVENTOR.

JOHN P OUACKENBUSH, JR.

FIG. 3 BY ATTORNEYS.

United States Patent 3,390,783 TEST TUBE HOLDER OR DISPLAY DEVICE John P. Quackenbush, Jr., Arlington, Va., assignor, by

mesne assignments, to Virginia Packaging Supply Company, McLean, Va., a corporation of Virginia Filed May 17, 1966, Ser. No. 550,692

" 9 Claims. (Cl. 211-73) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The test tube holder blank is adapted to form a unitary box-like structure having bottom, side and top walls which are held in assembled relationship by a locking connection provided between a flange which extends beneath the bottom wall and the end walls which extend downwardly from the top wall. By adding reinforcing panels and an intermediate shelf to the bottom section of the blank and providing corresponding apertures in this intermediate section and the top wall, the intermediate section may fold between the top wall and the bottom wall to provide a test tube holder. Corresponding slots formed in the side walls and the reinforced panels permit viewing of material contained in test tubes inserted in the test tube holder.

The holder of the present invention is capable of holding articles of various shapes, but in the embodiment of the invention as illustrated it has the purpose of holding substantially elongated cylindrical articles, such as test tubes of the type generally used in laboratories.

Due to a substantial increase in laboratory research in which test tubes are used such as in chemical analysis and culture testing, there has evolved an urgent need for an economical rack or device for holding test tubes which is adaptable to laboratory usage.

In various methods of chemical analysis and in particular in culture testing, extensive handling and manipulation of the test tubes or culture tubes is required. In particular, many occasions arise where it is desirable to subject a number of culture tubes simultaneously to the same type of manipulation. This is desirable both from an efficiency standpoint as well as for sake of comparative analysis. For example, in the cultivation of microorganisms of tissue it is often required that a group of culture tubes be held for a prolonged period of time with their longitudinal axis at or near the horizontal so as to provide a greater surface area of the culture medium. The culture tubes also undergo severe handling during cleaning and sterilizing procedures. Thus, it is desirable that a rack for holding test tubes for laboratory work be so equipped as to allow the safe handling of a number of tubes as a unit, and be sufficiently sturdy so as to hold up under extensive handling.

In view of the fact that it is often desirable to manipulate the tubes so that one tube may be quickly turned upside down and emptied without the tubes falling from the rack, it is also important that the rack or device be so designed as to hold the tubes firmly in place even when they are turned upside down.

One of the chief disadvantages in the laboratory test tube racks of the prior art is not only their high initial cost but the periodic cost incurred in replacing the wires and springs which are customarily used in these prior art devices to maintain the tubes in position.

Another significant problem encountered with prior art racks is the amount of space they occupy and as a result the amount of storage space which is needed to accommodate an adequate supply of them.

One of the principal objects of the present invention is to provide a device for holding test tubes and the like 3,390,783 Patented July 2, 1968 which is suitable for laboratory usage, yet is inexpensive and requires little storage space.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a device for holding a number of elongated articles such as test tubes and the like wherein means are provided whereby the bottom portion of said elongated articles held in said device may be readily seen without the need of removing them from said device.

It is an object of this invention to provide a device for holding a rather large number of elongated articles such as test tubes and the like, said device being formed from a blank of sheet material such as cardboard appropriately peripherally shaped, with cuttings and scorings.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a device for holding articles such as test tubes and the like, wherein said device is formed from a unitary blank of sheet material which may be assembled in bundles for forwarding to the place of use and there set up.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a device formed from a sheet material blank for holding elongated articles, said device comprising spaced substantially horizontal sections having vertically aligned holes therethrongh in which an article, such as a test tube may be disposed and held.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a device formed from a unitary blank of sheet material having a top section or panel with rows of holes therethrough spaced forwardly and rearwardly, and a second section or panel spaced below said top section having rows of holes therethrough spaced forwardly and rearwardly, the holes in said second section being substantially vertically aligned with holes in said top section, together with means contained in said top section for frictionally holding said articles in place when disposed in a pair of aligned holes.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a device as set forth in the preceding paragraph wherein said means contained in said top section for frictionally holding said articles in place when disposed in a pair of aligned holes, comprises lugs struck from said section constituting the material removed from the holes in said section and extending downwardly from said section.

Other details, objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of the present embodiment thereof, taken in conjunction with the drawings which accompany and form part of the specification.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of a blank adapted to be folded to form the improved test tube holder;

FIGURE 2 is a partly broken away perspective view of the present invention in assembled form; and

FIGURE 3 is a vertical section taken on line 3-3 of FIGURE 2.

As shown in FIGURE 1 in flat form, the blank has a bottom section 2, sides 4 and 6, a to portion or section 8, an intermediate section 10, reinforcing panels 12 and 14, and a flange 15. These various sections of the main panel are divided by parellel scorings 9. Extending from the sides 4 and 6 are end sections 18. Extending from the top portion 8 are end sections 16 terminating at flanges 20. Extending from the intermediate wall 10 are reinforcing end sections 22. Parallel scorings 11 mark the junction of the end panels from the main panels and the flanges 20 from end sections 16.

The intermediate section 10 has rows of circular holes 26 therein, said rows being spaced forwardly and rearwardly. In the embodiment of the invention illustrated there are five of said rows. The top portion or section 8 has a plurality of rows of holes 28 therethroughw hich are substantially the same as the holes in the intermediate section Wit-h the exception that the holes 28 are not circular. The holes 28 have a straight rear side 30. The

sides 31 of holes 28 are parallel and the front portion of said holes are triangular in shape. The material from the holes 28 is struck downwardly to form lugs 32. The lugs 32 are resilient and they press any articles inserted through the holes 28 against the front side of the holes 28. Slots 34 are formed in the flanges 20 for the reception of tongues 36 extending from two sides of the flanges 15. Each of said tongues is provided with a projection 38 for locking said tongues in said slots. Due to the thickness of the corrugated paperboard used in the preferred form, a corner 40 is cut out of each of the end sections 18 to receive the tongues 36 when the device is in its assembled form.

In its preferred form, that of a test tube rack or culture tube holder, a longitudinal opening 41 is formed in each of the sides 4 and '6 and the reinforcing panels 12 and 14. Each of these openings are aligned so that when the device is in its assembled form holding test tubes the contents of the tubes can quickly be observed through the openings.

The blank is assembled by folding the intermediate section 10 up over the bottom section 2 and the top section 8 up over intermediate section 10 with reinforcing panels 12 and 14 reinforcing sides 4 and 6, respectively and flange folded so as to underlay a pontion of the bottom section 2. The end sections are folded in place and tongues 36 inserted in slots 34 with the projections 38 on said tongues locking the blank in its assembled position as shown in FIGURE 2.

In the use of the device, articles such as the test tube 48 will be placed through the holes 28 in the top section 8 and then through holes 26 in the intermediate section 10. The lugs 32 will frictionally engage the articles so that the side opposite the lug is forced against the front side of the hole 28. This causes theopposite side of the article or tube 48 to be pressed against the rear side of the hole 26 in the intermediate section 10. The article or tube is thus frictionally held in position and thus it will not fall out even if the device is turned upside down. The device is often placed on its side. When the device is laid on its side with the lugs extending downwardly, the tube 48 will incline downwardly approximately 3 toward the bottom section 2.

While my preferred embodiment of this invention as described is a test tube rack or display support having an intermediate section parallel to and spaced horizontally from the top portion or section and made from a single blank of folda'ble sheet material, such as corrugated paper board, it is also contemplated that the device can be formed from two blanks of foldable sheet material with the reinforcing panels 12 and 14, intermediate section 10 and reinforcing end sections 22 formed from a separate blank and then inserted between the top section 8 and the bottom section 2 of the device. In order to conserve material an embodiment of the invention can also be formed without reinforcing panels 12 and 14, intermediate section 10 and reinforcing sections 22.. However, such an embodiment naturally would not possess the advantages of strength and rigidity to the same degree as the preferred embodiment of my invention.

It is to be understood that various changes in the device may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention as claimed.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A blank adapted to be folded to form a box-like structure having a top, a bottom, and at least two sides comprising a unitary central portion having in series a bottom section adapted to form said bottom, a first side section adapted to form one of said sides, a top section adapted to form said top, a second side section adapted to form one of said sides and a central portion flange section adapted to lie against said bottom section when said blank is folded to form the box-like structure, end sections extending laterally from said top section and a locking unit constituting the sole locking means for maintaining said blank in assembled box-like form, said locking unit including first locking means projecting from said central portion flange section and second locking means being positioned on said end sections to cooperate with said first locking means when said central portion flange section is folded against said bottom section, said second locking means including a flange extending from each of said end sections, each said flange being adapted to fold along a juncture line between said flange and end section to lie against said bottom section when said blank is folded, and a slot formed in each said flange to receive said first locking means, said slot being positioned on the flange side of the juncture line between each flange and end section.

2. The blank as defined in claim 1 wherein each said slot is positioned with one side thereof extending along the juncture line between said flange and end section, said first locking means including a pair of tongues projecting from said central portion flange section, each such tongue being adapted to fold relative to said central portion flange section for insertion into one of said slots to extend along the adjacent end section.

3. A blank as defined in claim 1 wherein the top section of said central portion is provided with a plurality of spaced, triangularly shaped holes extending therethrough, said top section being formed to provide resilient lugs of material struck from said top section to form said holes, said lugs extending outwardly from said top section adjacent said holes in the direction of said bottom when the blank is folded to form a box-like structure whereby an elongated article inserted through one of said holes will be frictionally engaged by the lower portion of one of said lugs, and each of said side sections is provided with openings therein to permit observation of said elongated articles.

4. A combination of the first blank as defined in claim 3 and a second blank adapted to be folded and inserted between said top section and the bottom section of said first blank when said first blank is folded to form the box-like structure, said second blank having a central section with a plurality of holes therethrough adapted to be aligned with the holes in said top section and reinforcing sections secured to said central section and defined therefrom by scorings, said reinforcing sections being adapted for maintaining said central section'spaced intermediate the top and bottom sections of said of first blank when said second blank is folded and inserted in the box-like structure formed by folding said first blank, the reinforcing sections of said second blank having openings therein aligned with the openings in the side sections of said first blank when said blanks are folded to form a box-like structure whereby said elongated articles inserted through the holes in said top and intermediate sections can be readily observed.

5. A unitary blank adapted to be folded to form a box-like structure having a top, a bottom and at least two sides comprising a central portion having in series a first reinforcing side section, an intermediate section, a second reinforcing side section, a bottom section adapted to form said bottom, a first side section adapted to form one of said sides, a top section adapted to form said top, a second side section adapted to form one of said sides, and a central portion flange section adapted to lie against said bottom section when said blank is folded to form the box-like structure, end sections extending laterally from said top section and a locking unit constituting the sole locking means for maintaining said blank in assembled box-like form, said locking unit including first locking means projecting from said central portion flange section and second locking means being positioned on said end sections to cooperate with said first locking means when said central portion flange section is folded against said bottom section, said second locking means including a flange extending from each of said end sections, each said flange being adapted to fold along a juncture line between said flange and end section to lie against said bottom section when said blank is folded, and a slot formed in each said flange to receive said first locking means, said slot being positioned on the flange side of the juncture line between each flange and end section, said first and second reinforcing side sections being adapted to position said intermediate section between and parallel to said top and bottom sections when the blank is folded to form a box-like structure.

6. A blank as defined in claim 5 wherein the top section of said central portion has a plurality of spaced holes therethrough, said intermediate section has a plurality of holes therethrough adapted to be aligned with said holes in said top section when said blank is folded to form the box-like structure, said spaced holes in said top section having substantially triangular front portions and straight rear sides, resilient lugs formed of material struck from said top section in forming said holes therein, said lugs extending outwardly from said straight rear sides and having their lower portions adapted to extend partially within a vertical projection of said holes so that an elongated article extended through one of said holes will be frictionally engaged.

7. A blank as defined in claim 6 wherein said side sections of said central portion have openings therein and said reinforcing side sections have openings therein coinciding with the openings in said side sections when said blank is folded to form a box-like structure whereby when the blank is folded to form a box-like structure elongated articles inserted into the blank through the holes in said top and intermediate sections can be readily observed.

8. A blank as defined in claim 7 including reinforcing end sections extending laterally from each of said side sections adapted to reinforce and underlay the end sections extending laterally from said top section.

9. A blank as defined in claim 8 wherein said sections of said central portion are defined by scorings extending their full lengths, said side sections are defined from said reinforcing end sections extending laterally therefrom by scorings, and the end sections extending laterally from said top section are defined from the top section and the flanges in which they terminate by scorings.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,296,158 3/ 1919 Bonham 20645.14 1,899,547 2/1933 Addis 206-45.14 1,901,583 3/1933 Conway. 1,966,734 7/1934 Rosen. 2,587,828 3/1952 Fogel 206-4519 2,902,170 9/1959 Miller 211-72 2,917,183 12/1959 Seelye 21174 FOREIGN PATENTS 332,961 8/ 1930 Great Britain. 178,624 3/ 1962 Sweden.

ROY D. FRAZIER, Primary Examiner.

A. FRANKEL, Assistant Examiner. 

